Resiliently suspended chair



March 17, 1953 J, MlLLEN 2,631,650

RESILIENTLY SUSPENDED CHAIR Filed Aug. 14, 1946 FIG. 1. p'

IN VEN 7 0R. James /P. M////7 HTTO/PNE Y5 Patented Mar. 17,1953

RESILIENTLY SUSPENDED CHAIR James R. Millen, Detroit, Mich, assignor to National Production Company, Detroit, Mich, a

corporation of Michigan Application August 14, 1946, Serial No. 690,410

Claims. (Cl. 155-17) This invention rel-ates to a chair and more particularly to a chair for an infant.

It is the object of this invention to produce a chair for an infant which is resiliently sus pended so that it will spring up and down and also teeter to a limited extent without tipping.

The invention contemplates a resilient sus pended chair for an infant which is of simple structure, easily assembled and disassembled, which is adjustable for height, and the resilient suspension of which can be readily changed or repaired.

In the drawings:

Fig, l is a side elevation of my chair.

Fig. 2 is a section along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a section along the line, 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a section along the line 4-9 of Fig. 1.

'Referring more particularly to the drawings it will be seen that my chair comprises a frame generally designated I comprising two vertical spaced side frame members 2 each in the form of a closed frame, a rear cross brace 3 riveted or otherwise afiixed thereto and a bottom plate member s which is riveted or otherwise fixed to the bottoms of the frames 2.

The seat assembly for the infant comprises a wire frame 5 upon which is mounted a canvas seat 6. Frame 5 is supported upon four legs, two upon each side of frame 5, the front legs being designated 1 and the rear legs 20. Each leg 1, 20 which is preferably made from heavy wire, extends substantially vertically and has its lower end turned outwardly at substantially a right angle and shaped in the form of a hook 8.

The seat assembly is arranged to be supported upon four resilient spring members 9 each of which preferably takes the form of an elastic cord made from any elastic substance, such as natural or synthetic rubber. Each cord 9 is provided at its opposite ends with knobs Ill which interengage bifurcated support brackets H and I2 riveted, welded, or otherwise fixed to top runs l3 and lower runs I4 respectively of frame 2. Each cord 9 is provided with a plurality of pairs of spaced knobs or stops It. When cords 9 are mounted between brackets II and I2 they are stretched somewhat so as to be placed in tension.

To assemble the chair upon two cords 9, hooks B are passed over or around cords 9 between two adjacent stops IE. The purpose in having hooks 8 interengage cords 9 between the pair of stops will be apparent by reference to Fig. 1. If the infant shifts his weight forwardly in seat 6, this will cause the seat assembly 5, 6 to tilt counterclockwise. However, the seat cannot tip over forwardly because hooks 8 of front legs 1 (shown in Fig. 2)'wi11 rest upon lower stops it of front cords 9 whereas the hooks 8 of rear legs 28 (shown in Fig. 3) will be elevated above front hooks 8 and engage beneath or on the underside of upper stops it on rear cords 9. If chair assembly 5,6 is tilted rearwardly, the reverse of this action will occur; namely, hooks 8 of front legs i will engage beneath upper stops it on front cords 9 and hooks 8 of rear legs 29 wil1 rest upon lower stops it on rear cords 9. Thus, the adjacent upper and lower stops I5 cooperate to prevent the chair assembly from tipping over. The resilient or elastic supports 9 permit the chair to vibrate up and down or to teeter to a limited extent without tipping over. a

The chair assembly5, 6 can always be adjusted to theheight of the infant by positioning hooks 8 between the different pairs of stops IE. For the smallest child, hooks 8 will be located between the lowest pair of stops it and as the child grows, the chair assembly will be raised by interengaging hooks 9 between higher stops l6.

Whenever a spring suspension member 9 wears out or needs replacement it can easily be removed by simply disengaging hooks 8 from such cord 9 and by drawing knobs it out of interengagement with bifurcated hooks It and i2. Cords 9 with knobs I9 and stops it can be molded as one integral piece.

Resilient members 9 could be made in the form of coil springs preferably telescoped within a tubular casing to prevent the infant from getting his hands squeezed between the coils of the spring, but I prefer to make suspension members 9 out of rubber because it is quiet in operation, can be readily installed and replaced and obviates the danger inherent in a coil spring; namely, of the infant getting his fingers pinched between the coils.

I claim:

1. A chair comprising in combination a supporting frame, a seat, at least two elastic cords located on each side of said seat and extending in an up and down direction, said frame having vertically spaced supporting members, means for securing each of said elastic cords in tension to said frame at two vertically spaced points on said supporting members, a plurality of spaced stops on each elastic cord, and means for releasably connecting said seat with each of said tensioned cords and for supporting the seat upon said stops.

2. A chair comprising in combination a supporting frame having upper and lower supporting members, a seat, two elastic cords positioned on each side of said seat in spaced relation and extending in an up and down direction, mean for releasably securing each of said cords at vertically spaced points to said upper and lower supporting members so that each cord is placed in tension, each cord comprising a molded rubber material and having molded integral therewith a knob at each end a plurality of spaced stops between said knobs, and means for releasably connecting the seat to said cords between two adjacent spaced stops whereby the cords provide an elastic suspension for said seat upon said frame.

3. A chair com-prising in combination a supporting frame having upper and lower supporting members, a seat, two elastic cords positioned on each side of said seat in spaced relation and extending in an up and down direction, means for releasably securing each of said cords at vertically spaced points to said upper and lower supporting members so that each cord is placed in tension, each cord comprising a molded rubber material and having molded integral therewith a knob at each end and a plurality of spaced stops between said knobs, a plurality of legs on said seat, each leg having a hook for releasably interengaging one of said elastic cords whereby the stops serve to support said legs upon said elastic cords.

4. A chair comprising in combination two upright open frame members, a seat between said frame members, a plurality of tensioned elastic cord extending in an up and down direction and secured to the top and bottom runs of said frame members whereby said elastic cards are free to flex within said frame, and means for interconnecting the seat to said elastic cords at a plurality of vertically spaced positions between their points of connection with the frame whereby said seat is resiliently supported in a 4 vertical direction and is adapted to teeter a limited extent.

5. A chair comprising in combination two upright open frame members, a seat between said frame members, a plurality of tensioned elastic cords extending in an up and down direction and secured to the top and bottom runs of said frame members whereby said elastic cords are free to flex within said frame, said seat having a plurality of legs for releasably engaging said elastic cords, and means on said cords and intermediate the ends thereof for releasably engaging said legs between the points of connection of the cords with said frame in a plurality of vertically spaced positions whereby said seat is resiliently supported in a vertical direction and is adapted to teeter a limited extent.

JAMES R. MILLEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 665,523 Hubbard Jan. 8, 1901 765,946 Wisda July 26, 1904 870,426 Gamber Nov. 5, 1907 1,004,957 Allen Oct. 3, 1911 1,127,413 Davis Feb. 9, 1915 1,861,938 Roche June 7, 1932 2,415,146 Nanna Feb. 4, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 696,049 France Oct. 7, 1930 528,295 Germany June 27, 1931 537,536 Germany of 1931 

